Phil Coulson
: "I'm Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." : ― Phil Coulson to Pepper Potts Phillip J. "Phil" Coulson is a Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., before that one of its best agents and Nick Fury's right-hand man for many important missions. He served as the primary operative in the Avengers Initiative following a Skrull Invasion on Earth in the 1990s, which led to the resurfacing of Captain Marvel. Coulson also ran ground interference, surveillance and tactical operations in Puente Antiguo, New Mexico as part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigation surrounding the incident with Thor and the Destroyer. He was also the primary S.H.I.E.L.D. operative in the investigation into Stark Industries. During the Attack on the Helicarrier, Coulson was killed by Loki. His death gave the Avengers the push they needed to band together and stop the Chitauri invasion. On Fury's orders, Coulson was brought to the Guest House, a secret facility where he was brought back to life using treatments developed by Project T.A.H.I.T.I., a project which he had formerly presided over. To preserve his sanity after he was healed, all memory of these events were removed from his mind. Coulson returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. to lead a new team to investigate the cases S.H.I.E.L.D. had not yet classified. While on this team, Coulson discovered the truth about the events after his death. During the HYDRA Uprising, despite the dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the betrayal of a member of his team, he led his team against the forces of HYDRA, attempting to stop his former colleague John Garrett, winning the final battle in which Garrett was ultimately defeated. After the battle, Nick Fury appointed him the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., ordering him to rebuild the organisation from scratch. To perform that task, Coulson led the remains of S.H.I.E.L.D. in many battles against HYDRA, crippling the terrorist organisation. He even made some contacts with the US military via Brigadier General Glenn Talbot. However, a new threat soon arose, the Inhumans led by Jiaying, the mother of Agent Skye. In the ensuing conflict, both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Inhumans suffered casualties, and even Coulson paid an extreme price to achieve victory, having his left arm cut off. But even that loss did not stop him, and he started a new project that would ensure the safety of humanity. The mission of recruiting Inhumans for the team became more difficult, as the Advanced Threat Containment Unit led by Rosalind Price, was dealing with the threat of the new Inhumans. However, Coulson had a relationship with Price while facing the threats of Grant Ward's HYDRA. The situation was further complicated following Price's assassination and the reemergence of Hive. Upon discovering the true origins of the Inhumans and HYDRA, Coulson invested efforts to prevent Hive from accomplishing his plan to change all Humans to Inhumans and to control all of them. Once Agent Lincoln Campbell had sacrificed himself to kill Hive and saved humanity, S.H.I.E.L.D. was once again recognised by the United States Government as an official agency, and Coulson and Alphonso Mackenzie conducted a pursuit after the former agent turned vigilante Daisy Johnson. With the revelation of Lucy Bauer and her ambition to find the dangerous Darkhold book, Coulson created an alliance with Johnson and Ghost Rider to find the book before the ghost did. He was caught in an explosion with Ghost Rider and Fitz by Eli Morrow and almost sank into another dimension, but managed to get out with help from Holden Radcliffe and Aida. Coulson then led the last fight against Morrow. During the ongoing conflict between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Watchdogs, Coulson was kidnapped by Holden Radcliffe, replaced by an LMD and put inside the Framework, where he lived as a history teacher. With the help of Johnson and Jemma Simmons, Coulson escaped the Framework, only to face against the threat of Aida to the real world. Shortly after Aida's defeat, Coulson appointed Alphonso Mackenzie as the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Awaiting prosecution following S.H.I.E.L.D.'s shutdown, Coulson and the remnants of the organisation were captured by Enoch and taken to the Lighthouse. After the Avengers were faced with the impending alien invasion of Thanos, Coulson and the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents came together to form a leading council that would decide how the agency would correspond with other organisations. Powers and Abilities Powers * Bionic Enhancements: After losing his hand and replacing it with a prosthetic hand, Coulson acquired a number of powers. However, in order to avoid having his hand confiscated by the police during his expected arrest, Coulson has currently switched to a "civvy hand" which has only enhanced strength, and nothing else. ** Enhanced Strength: Coulson's cybernetic hand gives him some degree of enhanced strength. He was able to keep Lash, an Inhuman with great physical strength, from killing Alphonso Mackenzie by gripping his arm, and also kill Grant Ward by crushing his chest. The newest version of the hand made him strong enough to crush a metal pipe, rip the barrel off of an assault rifle, and to momentarily stun the android Aida with a single hit. Coulson’s “civvy hand” is strong enough to match, and even overpower a Kree soldier’s own enhanced strength. ** Scanning: By making direct contact with another person's hand, Coulson can scan their handprint, as he did at the Symposium on Alien Contagion. ** Electronic Disruption: Coulson is able to disrupt electronic signals, such as the audio signal of the security cameras used in the room where Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter had been interrogated. ** Electromagnetic Pulse Emission: Coulson claimed that Leo Fitz could remotely trigger an EMP over the hand. ** Energy Shield Construction: The hand can generate an energy shield that is capable of withstanding explosions and gunfire ** Vehicle Manipulation: Coulson remotely controlled a Quinjet using his hand when there was no other way out of the Playground. ** X-Ray Vision: The hand is capable of projecting x-rays in order to see inside of objects, such as a truck. ** Electronic Communication: When their Quinjet crashed after fleeing from the Attack on Jeffrey Mace, Coulson attempted to call the base with his hand. Abilities * Expert Martial Artist: Coulson is highly trained in multiple martial arts and hand-to-hand combat styles, taking on a highly-trained specialist as Grant Ward, easily holding his own against a brainwashed Agent 33 and even fighting Calvin Zabo, a man with enhanced strength, on equal terms. He easily subdued Sebastian Derik, a highly trained assassin, even after having being tortured by him, and handled himself against Alphonso Mackenzie, who had gained strength from being under the control of the Kree City. He also killed an L.M.D. of Anton Ivanov after leaving the Framework. * Expert Marksman: Coulson is skilled in use of military assault weapons as well as edged weapons. He has wielded a variety of weapons in his missions, including experimental weapons * Expert Spy: Coulson is an expert at intelligence and espionage. He could tell what the man controlling Akela Amador looked like just by her description of how he typed. He has maintained very good covers on multiple occasions including when pursuing Ian Quinn on a train, at Cybertek's offices, and at Gabriel Soto's party in Miami, where he, along with Melinda May, were able to locate all the security cameras. * Multilingualism: Coulson is fluent in English and Spanish, though claiming he is only able to speak "vacation Spanish". Coulson used this skill in multiple missions, especially in Peru, where he had been stationed in 2002. He also speaks some Russian, albeit not fluently. * Master Tactician: An accomplished logistics specialist, Coulson assesses tactical situations and implements equipment and personnel as needed. He is also very proficient at designing ops. He is also a recognised expert on analysis, being able to run possible scenarios for any given information, and quickly recognise the probable one, such when deducing the Clairvoyant was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, or the reason why Skye accompanied Grant Ward out of Providence despite knowing he was a HYDRA operative. He also excels at tracking fugitives, being able to locate Grant Ward in Tijuana while he was running from justice. Once he became the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson was able to develop plans and strategies that gave severe blows to HYDRA and to end the threat posed by Jiaying and her community of Inhumans intending to develop an open war against S.H.I.E.L.D. * Expert Interrogator: Coulson is an expert in interrogations, knowing how to gather intelligence from rather small bits of information. While talking to Erik Selvig, Coulson knew that he was lying about the true identity of "Donald Blake". He had figured out that Elliot Randolph was an Asgardian based on how he interrogated Thor. During an interrogation of Glenn Talbot, Coulson knew what to say to get the emotional reaction he wanted to glean Talbot's fingerprints. Coulson interviewed each remaining member of his team to learn that Grant Ward loved his brother Thomas. Equipment Weapons * Smith & Wesson M&P: The Smith & Wesson M&P pistol is the standard sidearm carried by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and as such, Coulson uses it to threat or shoot most of his enemies. * Smith & Wesson M&P Compact: Coulson has used the compact version of the Smith & Wesson M&P pistol in some missions that required high mobility, such as the infiltration into the Guest House to quickly obtain medical assistance for Skye, being involved in a shootout with the security guards of the base. * M4A1 Carbine: The standard weapon used by S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike team members, that Coulson also used while tracking Deathlok and the Clairvoyant in Florida, and during his attempt to defend Providence base from intruders. * I.C.E.R. Pistol: After Agent Leo Fitz improved the technology of the Night-Night Gun, Coulson changed the now obsolete weapon and favored the use of the pistol version of the I.C.E.R.s. He used one of these in a gunfight against some men enthralled by the Asgardian Lorelei, to take them out without having to kill them. * Destroyer Armour Prototype Gun: When Loki escaped confinement aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Coulson retrieved the Destroyer Gun from secure storage. He confronted Loki, pointing the gun at him, and although he was stabbed from behind, Coulson managed to fire off one powerful shot that severely hurt Loki, but did not prevent him from escaping the Helicarrier. He used the weapon again during the Battle at Cybertek, where he managed to use it to easily defeat a whole squad of enhanced Centipede Soldiers. Other Equipment * Pick-Lock Device: One of Coulson's favourite gadgets, a little explosive used whenever he has to infiltrate a compound and finds closed doors too difficult to hack immediately. * Flash Bomb: Coulson used a Flash Bomb during the shootout at the Guest House, using to blind one of the security guards shooting at them and let Grant Ward have a clear shot of him. * Toolbox: A gift from Nick Fury, containing all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files, including many that were only previously known by Director Fury himself. Coulson found the coordinates of the Playground in order to serve as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new headquarters, and he continued to analyse it whenever he needed information that did not appear anywhere else. * Prosthetic Left Hand: After the amputation of his left hand, Leo Fitz built over three cybernetic replacements for him. Coulson had trouble adjusting to the prosthetic hand, and stated that "nothing feels normal". Relationships Category:Characters Category:Humans Category:Heroes Category:S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents Category:Coulson's Team Members Category:Advanced Threat Containment Unit Consultants Category:Spirit of Vengeance Hosts